Bangkok: The body of Mr. Sonthaya Akrasri, a 30-year-old Thai worker who tragically died in Israel in 2013, was received at Suvarnabhumi International Airport and is being prepared for transport to his hometown in Nong Bua Lamphu Province for religious ceremonies.

According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Sonthaya was taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2013, and his body finally arrived on Thai Airline flight LY083. Present to receive him were Ms. Trinuch Thienthong, Minister of Labor, along with executives from the Ministry of Labor, representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Dr. Alona Fischer-Kamk, the Israeli Ambassador to Thailand. They laid a wreath before officials moved the body to Nong Bua Lamphu for the planned religious rites.

The Minister of Labor emphasized that Mr. Sonthaya’s family wished to bring his body back to Nong Bua Lamphu for traditional ceremonies. Representatives from the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Israeli Embassy in Thailand are set to travel to pay their respects and meet with the deceased’s relatives.

The family of Mr. Sonthaya is set to receive compensation and benefits amounting to approximately 70,000-72,000 baht per month. Additionally, his parents will receive a total of 1.8 million baht in benefits.

The arrival of Mr. Sonthaya’s body marks the end of a prolonged two-year wait for his relatives to reclaim it. However, the body of another Thai worker, Mr. Suthisak, a 43-year-old from Nong Khai Province who also died in the Hamas hostage situation, remains unrecovered. Israeli authorities have confirmed his death, but his body has yet to be found.